US COURT OF APPEALS RULES IN FAVOR OF FERRING PHARMACEUTICALS

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WASH, D.C. (Oct.28, 1998) – In a 3-0 decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc., vacating a preliminary injuction brought by Serono Laboratories, Inc., that attempted to block the introduction of Repronex TM,
an infertility drug.

In the opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge Garland, he states, "In this case we consider the validity of the district court order, preliminarily enjoining approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a generic drug, that was issued at the behest of the manufacturer of the competing brand drug. We previously stayed the preliminary injuction pending our resolution of this appeal. Because we find the plaintiff has not satisfied the standards for preliminary injuction, and in particular has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits, we now vacate the injunction."

"The lawsuit by Serono did not stop us from marketing Repronex, and bringing to patients this much needed, substantially less expensive equivalent to Pergonal®," says Wayne Anderson, President of Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc. "The Court of Appeals ruling confirms our longstanding view that this suit was totally without merit. In just over a year, Repronex has become one of the most frequently prescribed human menopausal gonadatropins, demonstrating the need for cost-effective alternatives for the treatment of infertility."